CS/CS/SB 590 authorizes the Department of Revenue (DOR) to establish parenting time plans to which both parents have agreed in Title IV-D child support actions. Parenting time plans are documents that set out the time a child or children will spend with a custodial and non-custodial parent. Title IV-D child support cases are administrative matters delegated to the DOR by the Legislature. The majority of child support cases handled by the DOR are for parents that have a child or children together but have never married.

Under the bill, the DOR is required to provide parents parenting time plans with a proposed administrative support order. The bill also creates a standard parenting time plan that may be used by parents. In the event the parents cannot agree on a plan, they will be referred to the circuit court for the establishment of a plan. In these instances, parents will not pay a fee to file a petition to determine a parenting time plan.

Both parents must sign a parenting time plan before the plan may be incorporated into an administrative child support order. The Title IV-D Standard Parenting Time Plan provides the non-custodial parent that is paying child support a minimum amount of parenting time with his or her child.

The bill contains a nonrecurring appropriation of $690,650 and a recurring appropriation of $350,476 in general revenue to the DOR to implement the bill.

If approved by the Governor, the law will take effect January 1, 2018.